Caitlin Bacher:
Ever tried wrapping your head around the idea that you can create a six or even seven figure business just by selling one online course with one automated webinar funnel, no sales calls required?
Today, we’re talking about just that. So let’s get into it.
My name is Caitlin Bacher, founder and CEO of Scale With Success®. And I’m on a mission to help course creators all over the world, grow their business in a way that is profitable and scalable. We are sharing revealing conversations about what it really takes to scale an online course business to millions of dollars per year. Join us here to discover the tough decisions we’ve had to make, the biggest failures we’ve had to bounce back from and the learnings that emerged every step of the way. We are so grateful that we have the chance to share it all with you right here on Scale With Success®: The Podcast Built for Course Creators™. Let’s get started
Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on a new way to map out your automated webinar funnel so that your prospects feel seen and heard every step of the way.
The old way of jamming as many people as possible into your webinar funnel and trying to force them to buy before they’re ready is over.
No matter what you’ve heard before, I promise that you don’t need to lie or to coerce your prospects into purchasing your online course.
There are a lot of outdated practices when it comes to building out funnels.
And the good news is you don’t have to follow any of them.
My approach to building out automated webinar funnels is fueled by connection and empathy.
Not only that, it’s permission-based, which means that your audience never gets something that they didn’t ask for.
It’s a funnel that you can feel good about and excited for your audience to experience.
In order to create your own automated webinar funnel, you need to first understand the 3 phases that your prospect is going to journey through in order to become a buyer.
Each phase is important and serves a purpose. If a phase is skipped, or you try to move someone through a phase too quickly, you’re going to miss out on a lot of revenue.
So here are the 3 phases that your prospect will travel through inside of your automated webinar funnel.
Phase #1: Problem aware.
At this phase in your webinar funnel, people are just getting introduced to you.
They are aware that they have problems, but they don’t know about you or what solutions are available to them, and they certainly don’t yet know about your product.
As a course creator, your goal is to build an audience full of people that are problem aware.
And the best way to do this is to create content based around the problems that your online course can solve.
Your online course solves a specific set of problems, and the content that you share on social media needs to reflect that.
Let me give you an example.
Have you ever been scrolling through TikTok and stumbled upon a video that is all about snails and terrariums that really speaks to you on a cellular level?
I have.
And after I gave that video a heart, I headed over to the creator’s main page and was greeted with a plethora of content, all about snails and creating a snail-friendly habitat inside of their terrarium.
This woman’s TikTok was basically an encyclopedia of all things snails. She covered mistakes that people make when they’re building a terrarium for their snails. She talks about common myths about raising a healthy snail. She even made videos replying to questions that people asked all about snails.
Did she have me 100% engaged? Yes.
All of the content that she created was based around problems that I was actively experiencing.
Did she share a link to her automated webinar funnel where I could learn more about her unique process? No, but if she did, I guarantee I would’ve signed up for it.
Your social media needs to reflect the problems that your ideal customers are actively experiencing.
When your people find you on social media, they are going to see their lived experience reflected back to them inside of your content.
And that is going to build connection fast.
Creating content based around their problems will help them feel seen and heard.
And if you are consistently inviting them to your automated webinar, eventually, they’re going to sign up for it.
Now, if you try to invite them to your automated webinar before they consume any of that content, is that going to be very effective? Probably not. Maybe they would sign up for your automated webinar, but the chances are very low that they would be ready to buy.
The problem aware content that you are creating on social media is not just helping your audience. It’s helping move them to the next phase of your funnel, which takes us to
Phase #2: Solution aware.
In this phase, people know who you are and they know what solutions exist that are similar to the ones that you offer.
However, they don’t yet know all of the details of your product.
A webinar is the perfect form of content to offer audience members in this phase.
They know you, they like you, and they’re hungry to learn more about your unique process to solve their problems.
During your webinar, you can lead them on a journey that deepens your connection and clarifies what makes you different.
Many of our clients are in very competitive niches, where it’s extremely difficult to stand out. By focusing on what makes their specific method, framework, or system different from what everyone else is doing, they are able to grab and hold onto their attention.
If people are starting to watch your webinar, but then they drop off before they get to your pitch, there’s a good chance that they think your approach sounds exactly like whatever everyone else is offering. They’re not interested in it. It doesn’t sound different.
Keep in mind that your prospects that are in this solution aware phase, there’s a good chance that they are exploring multiple options, and they’ve probably seen a few webinars from your competitors.
Now, if you did a great job of really building trust with some of that problem aware content in Phase #1, and you do a great job of positioning your offer as something new and different when they’re in Phase #2 – Solution Aware, then they’re going to stick around for the entirety of the webinar so that they’ll be able to hear your pitch, where you get into the details of your product.
After they’ve heard your pitch and learned all the details of your product, they’ve now entered
Phase #3: Product aware.
At this point, folks have seen your social media content.
They’ve watched your webinar, and they’re now ready for product aware content, which is all on your sales page.
They’ve heard your pitch and they’ve seen everything that’s included, but they may still be on the fence about whether or not your product is right for them.
Many people in the product aware phase think that your online course looks great, and they believe that it works for other people, but they’re doubting whether or not it will work for them.
Deep down, they’re worried that because of X, Y, or Z, they’re not going to be able to get results.
They’ll say things like, “Your online course sounds great, but I don’t think it’ll work for me because my kids are picky eaters, or because I work a nine to five job, or because I purchased something similar before and I wasn’t able to stick with the program. I got overwhelmed and I didn’t get results. I’m afraid if I invest. It’s just going to be more of the same.”
It’s not about them trusting you. It’s about them trusting themselves.
These are valid concerns, but you likely have proof that others who have had the exact same objections were able to enroll in your course and get their desired result.
Moving people out of product awareness and into a fully fledged customer requires you to overcome any last minute objections they have before they enroll.
One of the most powerful ways to do this is with carefully chosen testimonials, hearing another student speak about why they were hesitant to enroll. What made them make the final decision, and what their results have been like afterwards is incredibly compelling.
It’s not enough for your testimonials to speak to the results. They also need to speak to the objection.
Remember, at this phase, your prospect knows that results are possible. They’re just worried that they are going to be the one person that this program won’t work for.
You know this isn’t true, but they don’t.
They want to know that they’re not alone, and that someone in a similar circumstance was able to succeed.
So as you can see, there is a lot more to think about when creating an automated webinar funnel than just the webinar itself.
- First you’ll create social media content for people that are problem aware, educating them all about their problems, the mistakes they’ve made, the myths that are holding them back, and the beliefs that are keeping them stuck.
- Plus, you’re going to have the opportunity to share a link to your automated webinar funnel.
- Then, for people who are solution aware and sign up for your webinar, you’re going to be able to deepen the connection and really clarify for them what makes your process different.
- Finally, for those that are product aware, you’ll be able to create content that overcomes any lingering objections they may have that are holding them back from enrolling so that they can confidently click that buy button and begin their transformation.
If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more about the Method we teach all of our clients because you want to turn your online course into a 6 or even 7 figure business, then I invite you to sign up for my FREE Masterclass.
Go ahead and click the link around this video and sign up today.
Are you struggling to scale your online course business to your first 6 or even 7 figures?
- You hate launching, but right now it’s the only way your course actually makes money.
- You can’t sleep through the night without waking up in a cold sweat, worrying about all the things you think you should be doing.
- All the sales and marketing strategies that used to work for you are completely failing. Maybe you’re feeling stuck, stressed, and confused about how to get things back on track.
- You wonder how in the world so many other course creators are able to generate predictable revenue month after month?!
It doesn’t have to be so hard.
Sign up for my free masterclass and I’ll walk you through the 5 pillars you need to turn your online course into a profitable 6 or 7 figure business without launching ever again.
All you have to do is hop over to caitlinbacher.com and sign up to watch FOR FREE today.
So go ahead, click over to caitlinbacher.com and sign up for my free masterclass to learn how you can turn your online course into a profitable 6 or 7 figure business. See you there!
Today’s episode is brought to you by Scale With Success® Accelerator — an online course designed to help you generate launch-sized revenue without lanching. If you want to learn MORE about our proven method for success, click here to watch my free masterclass. See you in there!
